Happy Birthday, Satoshi?

In the past 24 hours, the price of one Bitcoin has been slowly creeping upward. If yesterday it was hovering around the $445 mark, it is now approaching $460. Although all eyes of Bitcoin-enthusiasts have been focused on China recently in light of rumors regarding the predicted closing of all bank accounts of companies dealing with cryptocurrencies starting April 15th, there are others who have continued to speculate on the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. Particularly, some even claim that yesterday was his birthday. If this is indeed the case, we send our warmest congratulations.

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In the past 24 hours, the price of one Bitcoin has been slowly creeping upward. If yesterday it was hovering around the $445 mark, it is now approaching $460. Although all eyes of Bitcoin-enthusiasts have been focused on China recently in light of rumors regarding the predicted closing of all bank accounts of companies dealing with cryptocurrencies starting April 15th, there are others who have continued to speculate on the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. Particularly, some even claim that yesterday was his birthday. If this is indeed the case, we send our warmest congratulations.

Some users have “uncovered” that during the registration process for the P2P Foundation, Satoshi indicated April 5th, 1975 as his birth date. Of course, no one knows whether he specified his real birthday, but still.

Historically, April 5th is laden with many significant events. For example, on April 5th, 1933, during the Great Depression, the President of the United States at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, issued Order 6102 "forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States.” The order criminalized the possession of monetary gold by any individual, partnership, association or corporation. The order required all persons to deliver on or before May 1st, 1933, all but a small amount of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates owned by them to the Federal Reserve, in exchange for $20.67 per troy ounce. Another type of de facto gold seizure occurred as a result of the various Executive Orders and involved bonds, gold certificates and private contracts. Private contracts or bonds which were written in terms of gold were to be paid in paper currency based on a specified exchange rate.

The year written by Nakamoto as his birth date - 1975 - also holds historical significance. It is in this year when Americans were once again allowed to possess gold for the first time after the 1933 ban.

Interestingly, the most likely candidate for the role of Satoshi, Nick Szabo, has been active in the crypto-space since 1998. Although back then, his main focus was on electronic gold (bit gold), which can be said to be the ancestor of Bitcoin and which has had a major influence on the development of Bitcoin technology.

Moreover, in one of his forum posts, he also raised the issue of the 1933 ban on the possession of gold. This has led many to believe that Nick is indeed Satoshi Nakamoto, although he would never admit even if it indeed were true.